


In the Dark

by pterawaters



Series: Mr. Sandman [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Bisexuality, Canon-Typical Violence, Car Sex, Child Neglect, Established Relationship, Good Parent Joyce Byers, High School, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insomnia, Internalized Homophobia, Multi, Nightmares, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Post-Season/Series 01, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Public Sex, Secret Relationship, Sharing Clothes, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-24 08:38:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21335368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pterawaters/pseuds/pterawaters
Summary: Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan figure out what it means to be in a relationship like the one they're building. Unfortunately, a private moment becomes public, and they have to deal with the fallout.
Relationships: Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington, Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler
Series: Mr. Sandman [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1527764
Comments: 28
Kudos: 264





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to part 2 of this series! If you haven't read it yet, I do recommend starting with part 1, [Nyctophobia](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21186206/chapters/50431109).
> 
> The underage tag is used here due to explicit content between 16- and 17-year-olds, which occurs throughout. 
> 
> I've tagged for child abuse and child neglect. These incidents are referenced and occur "off screen."
> 
> This series has four complete stories and a fifth I'm currently working on. I'll try to post on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays until I run out of complete chapters.
> 
> The biggest thanks to several beta readers/discussion partners/cheerleaders: magdalyna, saltysantiago, tresa_cho, and ucanhavemysoup! You guys are awesome!
> 
> Artwork is by me.

** **

**January 1984**

Steve knew that Jonathan was waiting for a ride home from school, so he tried to be quick about showering after practice. The problem was that Coach stopped him for a chat about strategy for the game the following night. By the time he got out to the hallway where Jonathan was waiting, some of the seniors on the team had found him.

"–heard he's queer," Josh Becker sneered, nudging Jonathan's leg with his foot, even as Jonathan got up from where he'd been sitting on the floor.

"Nah, he can't be queer. He's always staring at Harrington's girlfriend," Chase Murphy chimed in, moving closer to really box in Jonathan. Steve winced. That was such a bad idea, cornering Jonathan like that. It wasn't going to end well.

Miles Smith really had to go and say the worst thing yet. "I heard he gave his little brother the bad touch, and that's why the kid ran away." Miles got two laughs in before Jonathan cold-clocked him, sending him sprawling to the floor.

Steve dropped his things, running over and calling, "Hey, cool it!" He caught Chase's arm before his blow could land on Jonathan and ducked before Chase could hit him with the other fist.

The sickening sound of a fist hitting flesh distracted Steve as he tried to figure out if it was Jonathan who got hit. While he wasn't looking, Miles tackled Steve against the lockers, saying, "What's your problem, Harrington? You're on  _ his  _ side?"

Miles got distracted by Josh hitting the floor. Steve took the opportunity to shove Miles away, only to turn and take one right in the nose from Chase.

Steve did his best not to let the stinging ache and his watering eyes distract him from hitting Chase back. He got a few good whallops in before he realized that Jonathan was sitting on Josh, whaling on him ruthlessly. Miles was trying to pull Jonathan off before he killed the kid.

Ducking under Chase, Steve shoved Miles and then got on the ground, putting himself between Josh and Jonathan as best he could. "Hey! That's enough!"

Jonathan seemed to come out of his haze when he saw Steve, though when he scrambled to his feet, he kept his fists up, facing the other two.

Steve got to his feet as well, staring down Miles and Chase. He told them, "Get Josh out of here. I want him cleaned up before tomorrow's game." His team co-captain authority seemed to do the trick. The three seniors didn't seem exactly cowed, but they followed orders, picking Josh up off the floor and helping him limp away.

"Let's get out of here," Jonathan muttered, scooping his things up off the floor.

Steve followed him, getting his own things and pinching his nose to try to stem the flow of blood. He handed over his car keys when Jonathan asked for them, and soon enough, they were back at Jonathan's place.

"Let's get you inside and cleaned up," Jonathan said in a voice that allowed no arguments.

"Bet you wish that part for your car wasn't still a week out on order," Steve said, letting Jonathan drape Steve's arm over his shoulder as they walked toward the house. "Sorry I was late."

"Don't worry about it," Jonathan said, unlocking the door and turning on all the lights. "Come here." He directed Steve to one of the kitchen chairs, then pulled a towel out of one of the drawers near the sink. "Here."

"Thanks," Steve replied, taking the towel and using it to put pressure on his nose. 

Jonathan got another towel out, wetting it with warm water. He took Steve's free hand and blotted at the scrapes on his knuckles, cleaning them up. After a minute, Steve switched which hand was holding the towel to his nose so Jonathan could clean up the other. As he finished with Steve's knuckles, Jonathan said in a soft voice, "I never did that. What those guys were talking about."

Confused, Steve asked, "What? Stare at Nancy? I've seen you do that. A lot." He laughed, but Jonathan didn't even smile.

"No." Jonathan shook his head. "What they said about my brother. I would never do that. It's disgusting!" He sighed, sitting down in the chair next to Steve's. "I wanted to kill them."

Steve took the towel away from his nose, flexing his nostrils and pleased when it felt like the blood had stopped flowing. "I know you wouldn't hurt Will." He took up Jonathan's hand, inspecting the scrapes there and reaching for the wet towel. "I wasn't so sure you wouldn't kill Josh Becker, though. I kinda thought you might have actually done it if I hadn't stopped you."

Jonathan winced as Steve blotted at his knuckles. "He called me queer." Looking up at Steve and meeting his eyes, Jonathan muttered, "I guess I kind of am."

It took Steve a few seconds to fully comprehend what Jonathan was saying. It gave Steve a sharp pain in his stomach when he realized what the confession meant not just for Jonathan, but for  _ him _ too. Steve was the one who had kissed Jonathan first. He'd just been so happy and in the moment. It had felt right. Each time since that first one had felt pretty goddamn right too. Steve just kind of figured since Nancy was there with them, they couldn't be queer.

She wasn't with them now.

Jonathan looked so sad, Steve couldn't stand it. He leaned over, angling to kiss Jonathan, but Jonathan backed away. Steve froze, his heart sinking. Maybe Jonathan didn't mean what Steve thought he did?

"No, it's just," Jonathan said with a snort, taking the wet towel back from Steve. "You're  _ covered _ in blood."

"Oh!" Steve said, returning Jonathan's smile with relief. He let Jonathan clean up his face, saying, "You know, my dad says if you're going to be something, you better make sure you're great at it."

Jonathan did a final few passes on Steve's upper lip and chin. "You want to be great at being queer?"

"Do you know what it takes to be great?"

An indulgent smile on his face, Jonathan shook his head.

Steve grinned and cupped Jonathan's face in his hand. "Practice."

Laughing, Jonathan pushed Steve's hand away from his face. He kept hold of Steve's hand as he stood up, tugging on Steve's arm until he stood as well. Jonathan led Steve to his bedroom. It felt a little like all those times Steve had come over just to sleep. 

Except this time, when Jonathan closed and locked the door behind them, Steve didn't feel at all sleepy.

He bracketed Jonathan against the door and leaned down just enough to kiss him thoroughly. Jonathan kissed back, and the angles of his body were different than those on any of the girls Steve had kissed. That fact didn't seem to affect the enjoyment Steve got out of the kiss in any way, which Steve found interesting to note.

Pressing against Jonathan as they kissed, Steve got hard and realized that, yep, he totally wanted to fuck Jonathan Byers. He wasn't quite sure  _ how  _ to go about doing so, but it was definitely a thing he wanted. Getting naked was probably a good first step. Steve got Jonathan's jacket off, then his t-shirt. The feel of warm skin under Steve's hands was one of his favorite things ever. Even now.  _ Especially  _ now. 

Jonathan pushed away from the door and shoved Steve toward the bed. Steve sat down and let Jonathan crowd between his legs, take his shirt, and throw it on the floor. Then he pushed his hands into Steve's hair and grabbed it. Tugging Steve by the hair, Jonathan tilted back his head and kissed him hard. Steve shuddered at the mix of those particular sensations, and his entire body went boneless, except for his dick. He moaned for Jonathan unabashedly, his only concern how much he wanted more, more, more.

Steve laid back on the bed, struggling as he pushed off his tight jeans and his underwear. When he looked up, Jonathan was just standing there, watching him. "What?"

"Just kind of a surreal moment," Jonathan replied, joining Steve on the bed with his pants still on. He kissed Steve, one hand roaming over Steve's chest and arm.

Steve ignored Jonathan's apparent existential crisis and rolled them so they were both on their sides, facing each other as they kissed. He felt up Jonathan's chest for a minute before moving his hand downward. This was the point at which all of the girls he'd been with had slapped his hand away. He hoped Jonathan was going to be different. Well, he  _ knew _ Jonathan was going to be different in at least one regard. He had a general idea of what was inside Jonathan's pants from being in the room while Nancy got in them. Steve wasn't quite ready to go that far yet. He kept his hand over rather than in Jonathan's pants as he made his opening salvo, cupping Jonathan's dick and stroking it, just a bit.

"Oh, fuck," Jonathan said, tugging on Steve's hair again, making Steve's cock jump. Steve only had to squeeze and stroke once more before Jonathan pushed his hand away and started shimmying out of his pants.

Steve pressed as close to Jonathan as he could get, chest-to-chest, legs twining together, mouths in turn kissing and just breathing together. Steve got his hand around Jonathan's cock, stroking it, and Jonathan did the same to him. It didn't take long before they were both sticky and satisfied.

As Steve lay in a haze of satisfaction, ignoring the way his nose throbbed in time with his slowing heartbeat, Jonathan asked, "Do you think Nancy will be mad at us for doing this without her?"

"God, I hope not," Steve replied, taking the tissues Jonathan handed him and cleaning up a bit. "Maybe we're practicing to put on a show for her benefit."

"She's not stupid, Steve," Jonathan said. "She's not that naive, either, despite the way she likes to play up that assumption of her."

"She still has that gun, doesn't she?" Steve asked, suddenly not so relaxed. "We should have cleared this with her first."

"What if we call her right now?"

"And what? Confess?" Steve asked, reaching for his underwear from the floor. "I suppose if we call her, we might get further before she tracks us down and murders us."

Jonathan pulled his underwear on as well. "I mean more like, ask permission."

"Like we hadn't done anything yet?"

Jonathan nodded, his eyes big and dark. 

"What if she says no?"

" _ Then  _ we start running."

Shrugging, Steve sighed. "Well, it's as good a plan as any. You get her on the phone. I'll do the talking."

A few minutes later, Jonathan was saying, "Hey, Nancy," and then handing Steve the phone.

"Nance! It's me. I'm with Jonathan, obviously," the nervous laugh that came out of him wasn't exactly on purpose.

"Steve? What's going on?" Oh, she had that scary tone in her voice. Shit.

"Nothing bad," he tried to assure her. "We were just hanging out and were wondering if it would be okay with you if we fooled around, you know, just the two of us. Only since you're busy today. Studying. Otherwise it wouldn't be just the two of us, and you would be here!"

After a short pause in which Steve was sure he was going to be murdered, Nancy asked, "You already fucked him, didn't you?"

"No!" Steve cried, before closing his eyes and trying to get control over the tone of his voice. He decided outright lying to her probably wasn't in his best interest. "I mean, we fooled  _ around  _ …"

Jonathan took the phone from Steve. "I'm sorry, Nancy! We're sorry!"

"We didn't mean to!" Steve added, crowding close to the phone. "We love you!"

"We'll make it up to you," Jonathan promised.

Steve decided to go for broke and chime in, "Whatever you want."

"Are you both listening?" Nancy asked, pausing until Steve and Jonathan both answered that they were. "I think we should talk about this in person."

Steve widened his eyes at Jonathan, drawing his finger across his neck to symbolize their imminant murder. 

"Are you mad?" Jonathan asked, doing that vulnerable thing that Steve knew he could never get away with. He put his ear closer to the phone so he could hear Nancy's response.

"No," she said simply. "If it was some other  _ girl _ , I'd be mad." Steve was about to sigh with relief when Nancy added, "I do still think we should talk, just to clear the air about all of this."

"Sure," Jonathan said, looking more like he was agreeing to an execution than a talk. "Whenever you want."

Anticipating seeing Nancy the next day, Steve took the phone and said, "Oh, hey. I'm probably going to have black eyes in the morning."

"Wh-why?" Nancy asked, sounding thrown off for the first time the whole conversation.

"Some seniors were harassing  _ your  _ boyfriend, and  _ I  _ stopped them," Steve said proudly.

"You stopped them with your face?" Nancy asked. Beside Steve, Jonathan snickered, obviously having heard her. 

"Hey!" Steve cried, his ego rapidly deflating. "It was a peacekeeping mission, I'll have you know!"

"He really did help," Jonathan said into the phone, hanging on Steve's shoulders. "My hero!"

Nancy's bright laugh made Steve smile, even if it was at his expense.

"Keep it up, Byers!" Steve said loudly. "See if I ever jerk  _ you  _ off again!"

After her hysterical laugh was cut off by short, gulping gasps, Nancy told them, "It's dinner time. I have to go.  _ Behave  _ yourselves."

The line went dead. 

Steve looked at Jonathan, who was standing there in his socks and underwear, the same as Steve. "What do you want to do now?"

Jonathan smirked. "Blow you."

Steve gaped at him. "What, really?"

"No, asshole!" Jonathan said with a grin, walking back toward his room. "We gotta get dressed. My mom's gonna be home soon."

"Shit," Steve said, giving the front door a wary look and trying not to look too stupid walking down the hallway with half a boner. " _ You're _ the asshole,  _ asshole _ ."

When he got to Jonathan's room, he already had on his jeans, and had a fresh shirt in his hands. Steve picked up his own shirt and frowned at all the blood on it. "I guess this one's wrecked."

"Here," Jonathan said, handing Steve a long sleeved green shirt. It was rougher than something Steve's mom would have bought him, but it fit and it was warm.

"Thanks," Steve said as he smoothed it down. "I'll get it back to you when I can."

"Don't worry about it." Jonathan said, tugging on one of the sleeves a little. “It looks nice on you.”

He looked all soft and inviting, and Steve couldn’t help himself. He ducked down and kissed Jonathan. This easy sharing of affection made Steve feel warm and welcome and a lot like he never wanted to go home. 

The sound of Joyce and Will coming through the door was the only thing that made Steve willing to step away. Meeting Jonathan’s eyes, Steve asked, “Can I stay?”

“Yeah,” Jonathan told him with a decisive nod. “You can stay.”

~*~

It was Saturday afternoon, Jonathan wasn’t working, and Steve’s parents were out for the day. Nancy sat on Steve’s bed, pulling a stack of papers out of her backpack. “There was this book at the library,” she said, setting the papers in front of her and meeting first Jonathan’s eyes, then Steve’s. “It was about something called ‘multilateral relationships’. I guess that’s what you could call what we’re doing. I photocopied the chapter about clear communication. I think you guys should read it.”

Teasingly, Steve said, “God, you’re such a nerd. You brought us homework?” He picked up the stack of papers. As his eyes moved across the page, he asked, “Wait, so other people do this kind of thing too?”

Nancy nodded “Yeah. It was always sort of happening, I guess, but the free love movement of the past couple decades really expanded it. It’s particularly common in the…” She cleared her throat. “Well, in the  _ queer _ community.”

She watched as Steve and Jonathan shared a significant look. “Are there…?” Steve started to ask, licking his lips as he turned his eyes from Jonathan to Nancy. “Are there other people who mostly like girls, but also get … feelings for the occasional guy?”

“Yeah,” Nancy told him. “It’s called bisexual.”

“Like Bowie, man,” Jonathan said, nudging Steve’s shoulder. “Ziggy Stardust?”

Steve’s eyebrows went up. “I’ve heard of that guy!”

“So, clear communication,” Nancy said, trying to bring the conversation back to the topic at hand. “Just, it’s important to say what we’re feeling.”

“Sounds a little like Hippy-Dippy BS,” Steve said with a sigh, leaning back on his arms. “But I guess we can try it. What, exactly, are  _ your _ feelings, Nancy Wheeler?”

“I–” she said, trying to remember all the thoughts she’d had before this moment and finding them just out of reach for a second, before she found them again. “I like both of you. I mean, I have  _ romantic _ feelings. I feel safer when you’re both around. I sleep better, I  _ feel  _ better. I want us all to be together for as long as we can make it last.”

Jonathan nodded along with her. “Yeah, I mean. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through the last couple months without–” He looked down, his hair shielding his face as he shook his head. “I need you guys.” He shrugged one shoulder, saying, “And, like, the fooling around part is nice, too.”

Steve snorted, putting an arm around Jonathan’s shoulders and pulling him closer. He reached for Nancy with the other hand. “Gotta say, I’m a fan, too. If I can keep you guys close and get my dick wet all at once, I’m good. Like, feelings-wise. Fulfilled and all that crap.”

Nancy could tell that Steve was trying, despite his general boorish attitude. She let Steve pull her into a three-person hug. 

“Nance, I love you,” Steve admitted, and  _ that  _ was the emotional communication she was looking to get out of him. His real feelings for once! Steve continued, “And I guess I’m getting there for you, too, Jonathan, as weird as that is to say out loud.”

“Am I not lovable?” Jonathan asked, winking at Nancy. 

“You are,” Nancy agreed, leaning over to kiss him. “And look, the only way this is going to work is if we all trust each other.”

“And?” Steve asked, like trusting Nancy and Jonathan was no big deal to him. At this point, maybe it wasn’t. They had all been sleeping next to each other for a couple months. That had to take some level of trust, didn’t it?

“Look, in a regular relationship, you promise not to date anyone else, right?” Nancy spelled out, getting nods from both of them. “All I’m saying is that if we all promise we’re not going to date outside the three of us, it won’t be a big deal if it’s just two of us getting together without the third.”

“What if the third person feels left out?” Jonathan asked. 

“Then they’ll need to tell the others and we’ll change the rules until they work for everyone.”

This time it was Steve who asked the question, “What if they never work for everyone?”

Nancy thought this over before admitting, “Then I guess we’re not as compatible as I thought.”

“Just like any other relationship,” Steve said, like he was thinking out loud. Louder he added, “Yeah, I can promise that stuff.”

“Me too,” said Jonathan.

Nancy nodded. “Me three.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An incident at Steve's basketball game leads to a big change in Nancy and Steve's relationship.

** _Early March, 1984_ **

"I know we promised Steve we would watch his game," Jonathan murmured against Nancy's ear. "But this is excruciatingly boring."

He expected Nancy to at least _ try _to get him on board with sticking around for the second half of the basketball game. Instead, she raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "What did you have in mind?"

"I've got a new album I wanted to play for you," he told her. "We could go listen in my car, come back for the last few minutes of the game?"

Looking out at the court, Nancy frowned. Jonathan watched as Steve made his tenth lay-up of the night, putting the score 58-10 in Hawkins' favor. He seemed to remember Steve talking the night before about how the game wasn't going to be a fair match-up and everyone knew it. Jonathan had been half asleep at that point, worn out after school, developing photos, working a shift, and then sneaking into Nancy's bedroom. It had been almost four months since "the monster", and Jonathan still only slept well when both Nancy and Steve were in the room with him.

When Nancy finished cheering for Steve, she sat back down between Jonathan and her friend Stacey. Leaning toward Jonathan, she told him, "Ten minutes, your car. Leave now."

Jonathan didn't have to be told twice. He got up, glad he was on the aisle of the bleachers, and left the gym.

He went out to his car and turned on the radio, listening as he waited. He drifted off a little, so when his passenger door opened, he startled a bit. It was just Nancy, grinning at him as she got in.

"Is this it?" she asked, nodding at the stereo as she closed her door.

"Nah," Jonathan told her, switching over to the tape deck. The cassette had been rewound all the way, so he only had to press play and wait.

As the first few chords started, Nancy shivered. "It's cold out here."

"I'd turn on the heat, but I can't afford to waste the gas," Jonathan told her, moving closer to put an arm around her. "I can keep you warm."

Nancy laughed at his line, but snuggled in closer all the same. "This is good," she said of the music. "I like it."

"Good," Jonathan said, more than a little captivated by the look of Nancy's profile in the lights coming from the dashboard and those shining through the windshield from the school. "How can you be so pretty?"

She clicked her tongue at him. "Jonathan!"

"What?" he replied, smiling as she turned to him all flustered.

Shaking her head, Nancy leaned closer and kissed him. It had only been since the day before that Jonathan had kissed Nancy deeply, but it felt like longer. When she started to pull away, Jonathan tugged and coaxed her back in, slipping his tongue against hers.

Nancy gasped. The sound never failed to make Jonathan's pulse quicken. She shifted a little closer, really pressing against Jonathan's side, putting her hand on his chest. "How quick do you think we could be?"

Just the suggestion (he wasn't even quite sure of _ what _) had Jonathan terribly hard, so he told her, "Quick. We could be quick."

With a smirk, Nancy lifted her hips, reached under her skirt, and slipped off her underwear. "There," she said, climbing into Jonathan's lap. "That's better."

"Jesus, Nancy," Jonathan said, putting his hands on her hips and reaching a few of his fingers up under the hem of her shirt. "You ever done this with Steve?"

"Sex in a car?" Nancy shook her head, biting her lip and using her nimble fingers to unbutton Jonathan's fly. "Have _ you _ ever done this with Steve?"

“Not this exact…” Jonathan said, hissing and throwing his head back when Nancy got his jeans nudged down far enough to get his cock through the fly. Jonathan pushed his jeans a little further, just to make sure the teeth of the zipper didn’t get in the way. He swallowed, shuddering at the feeling of Nancy’s hand stroking him. “Not this _ exact _ thing. We just made out once, in his car.”

“Mm-hmm,” she said, using one hand to pull her skirt out of the way, and the other to hold his cock as she sank down onto it. “Oh!”

Jonathan didn’t think he’d ever get used to the way it felt when Nancy enveloped him with her body. It made his eyes roll back and his toes curl and every nerve ending in his whole body sing. “Shit, Nancy! Oh my god!”

She grabbed his face in both hands and kissed him, pressing and biting at his lips as she lifted up and sank back down. Nancy moaned with him this time. 

The next time Nancy lifted up, she stopped short, saying, “Ow! Steering wheel!”

“Wanna move to the back seat?” Jonathan asked her, already short of breath. 

“Yeah.” Giggling, Nancy shifted sideways and then climbed over into the back seat. Jonathan felt extremely cold and exposed without her on his lap, so he followed her as best he could. 

The ended up in much the same position as before, with Nancy on top, only in the back seat where there was marginally more space. 

“Oh,” Jonathan groaned, putting his hands up Nancy’s shirt. “I definitely miss doing this in a bed. Without clothes.”

“Did you want to wait until we find ourselves in a bed?”

“God, no!” Jonathan kissed Nancy, putting his hands on her hips and thrusting up as she pushed down to meet him. “Don’t tell Steve, but …” he said, pausing to catch his breath, “… this is way more fun than watching his game.”

Nancy giggled, giving Jonathan a deep kiss and speeding up her pace. It wasn’t long before Jonathan was done in, coming even as Nancy continued to move on him. 

Too soon he felt overstimulated and desperate to stop, lifting Nancy's hips and panting out, "I can't… I can't…" 

Jonathan could never figure out how Steve was able to keep fucking after he came. Was it willpower, or did he just feel things differently? It was a question Jonathan imagined experimenting around more than once. The thought didn't really help him now, however.

Except, he did have an idea. "Turn around," he told Nancy, nudging her hips until she did so. He sat her back down in his lap, hooking his left hand under her left leg and pressing two of his fingers into her. 

“Ah, shit!” Nancy cried out. “Your fingers are so cold!”

With his right hand, he reached up her skirt and found her clit. He stroked it the way Steve had shown him, the way that made Nancy tense up and cry out and say, “More … more!”

When Nancy came, she threw her head back against Jonathan’s shoulder and whined. She grabbed at his right wrist, digging in her nails, but Jonathan knew better than to stop. He sped up, keeping her up at the top for a few extra seconds before finally letting her crash down. 

“Oh, god,” she groaned, boneless as Jonathan wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. After a minute, Nancy shifted, turning in Jonathan’s arms until she was just right for kissing. She kissed him a few times before sighing. “I should go back in. The game will be ending soon.”

“I’m gonna take off,” Jonathan told Nancy, kissing her again. “You guys can come by my place after pizza with the team.”

“You’re sure you don’t want to come?” Nancy asked, and he could tell that it was a good-faith effort on her part. 

“I don’t fit in with that crowd,” he insisted. “And what reason would I even have to be there? I can’t exactly tell people I’m dating the co-captain and his girlfriend.”

Nancy pouted at Jonathan. “I don’t like leaving you out. Maybe I shouldn’t go either.”

“And leave Steve alone?” Jonathan shook his head. “All the other guys bring their girlfriends. And you always seem to have fun. You should go.”

“If you’re sure …”

Jonathan chuckled, running a hand through Nancy’s hair. God, he loved her so much. “I’m sure.”

Smiling, Nancy kissed him again. “Okay. I’m gonna go.”

“Bye.” Jonathan tucked himself back into his pants before Nancy climbed out of the car and left. When he sat back in the driver’s seat, he wiped the fog off the windows the best he could before turning on his car and heading for home. 

Only after he got there and opened his door did he realize that Nancy’s panties were laying on the floorboard of his car. He scooped them up, stuffing them into his jacket pocket, and heading inside. 

Will and Joyce were on the couch, watching TV and eating popcorn. Looking up at him, Joyce said, “You’re home kind of early. Everything okay?”

“Everything’s great,” he assured her, stuffing his hands deep into his jacket pockets. “The game was pretty boring. I decided to come home.”

Joyce lifted up the edge of her blanket. “Come watch with us!”

Thinking about what he’d just been up to, Jonathan said, “Let me go get cleaned up first.” Shit, that wasn’t incriminating at all … “I mean, put some pajamas on. Use the head. Back in a minute!”

He retreated to his room. Nancy’s panties joined the “collection of things Steve or Nancy have left here” corner of his lower dresser drawer. He changed into flannel pajama pants, used the toilet, then washed his hands _ very _well before joining his family in front of the TV.

~*~

Nancy realized that she’d forgotten her panties in Jonathan’s car about twenty steps away from it, but at that point, Brad and Julie Werner were coming out of the school and she didn’t want the twins to see her get in the car with Jonathan. As far as anyone at school knew, Nancy was dating Steve, and _ only _Steve. They didn’t need to know she had another boyfriend, one whose come was dribbling down her leg as she walked. 

_ Yikes_.

Nancy stopped in the bathrooms near the gym for a quick clean up, and then she joined her friends again in the stands. All told, she’d only been gone about twenty minutes. 

“What took you?” asked Stacey, her eyes mostly on the game. “Been gone awhile.”

“Not that long,” Nancy insisted, noticing there was still three minutes left on the game clock. “I just needed a little air.”

Instead of replying, Stacey whooped at the three-point shot made by James Carbrook. The score was even more lopsided at 79-12 than when she’d left, so Nancy really didn’t feel that bad about missing some of it. 

The end-of-game whistle blew and Nancy cheered with the rest of the Hawkins crowd, even though she knew it was an easy, unfairly won victory. It was still a victory, and it felt nice and fun to celebrate it. She kind of missed whatever sarcastic comment Jonathan would have made, but then she realized what she really wanted to hear was Barb’s take on the subject. 

Barb wasn’t here. She was gone, no bringing her back. The realization caught Nancy off guard. It hadn’t hit her this hard in months, and coming up out of it as she found herself on the court, Steve hugging her, felt like coming up out of a dream. 

She pushed it away, hugging Steve back, despite how sweaty he felt, and tried to act like everything was fine. It wasn’t. It couldn’t be. That one stolen moment with Jonathan in his car felt precious and wrong all at once, like she shouldn’t have felt so good about it. Like she shouldn’t be taking comfort in _ anything_, much less one of her boyfriends. Not when Barb would never get to have any of those things. 

When Nancy woke up again, she and Steve were walking out to his car. “You okay?” he asked her, stopping at her side of the car. 

It was sweet of him to ask. She almost thought about telling him that everything was fine. Then she remembered their promise to try to communicate clearly. "I miss Barb."

Steve pulled her into a hug, holding her close. "D'you want to skip Pete's?"

"No," Nancy decided, wiping a tear from under her left eye. "No, it's important to you."

Steve sighed. "_You're _ important to me."

Nancy almost took him up on the offer, but she decided that stepping away from a good portion of his game to have sex with Jonathan, then also making Steve miss the post-game party with his friends was too much to have on her conscious for one night. "No, let's go. It'll be good to be around people."

A big grin spreading across his face, Steve said, "Yeah it will!"

Once they got to Pete's Pizza Parlor, the team pulled Steve into the middle of the chaos that was forty teenagers all trying to order pizza and drinks. Steve pulled Nancy with him. They ended up sitting with their backs to the restaurant wall, in the middle of a long, full table, looking out over all the other occupied tables. 

Nancy felt a little like she and Steve were holding court, looking over the rest of the group like this. All the guys played for the varsity team, and all the girls were dating one of the players. Jonathan was right. He would have been miserable here, not fitting into either of those boxes. Nancy had figured out over the past few months that there were very few boxes that Jonathan actually did fit into. He fit into the boyfriend box really well, in her opinion, anyway.

She looked over at Steve, who was chatting and laughing with his friends, and wondered if _ he _thought Jonathan was a good boyfriend.

Before Nancy could follow that train of thought too far, Denise Thompson, who was sitting directly across from Nancy, said very loudly, "Who wants to know what I saw out in the parking lot during the game?" She looked directly at Nancy with an evil little grin, and Nancy's heart _ stopped _. 

"What did you see, Denise?" asked Josh Becker from the next table over, where most of the seniors were sitting.

"I saw," she said, really milking the pause for drama, "Nancy Wheeler fucking Jonathan Byers in the back seat of his car."

_ Shit_.

Nancy suddenly felt far more exposed than she had when she realized she wasn't wearing any underwear. She felt sick, and horribly pissed off, and mortified all at once. Summoning every ounce of willpower and control she had, Nancy stood up and said, "Steve, may I speak to you in private?"

"Yeah," he said, standing up as well. He looked wide-eyed and caught off guard, and Nancy couldn't blame him. She would have felt the same if their positions were reversed. "Yeah, let's go talk."

Nancy grabbed up her coat and her purse, holding her chin high as she walked through the entire basketball team crowd and out of Pete's. Steve followed close on her heels. She headed for Steve's car, wanting the (relative) privacy of a conversation without eavesdroppers.

When Steve sat down in the car next to Nancy he asked, "Did you really fuck Jonathan in the school parking lot?"

"Well, _ inside _ his car," she told him, "but yes. I did. I have no idea how Denise even saw us, but that's a thing that I did do. We did." She sighed, looking over at Steve, who still looked a little confused. "We agreed that any two of us without the third is okay. Steve, we _ agreed_."

"I'm not mad you fucked him," Steve insisted. "In fact, I could use to hear more…"

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Of course you could."

"I'm just…" Steve turned to look at Nancy. "Like, what do I do now? I think I have to break up with you."

Nancy felt blindsided. "Break up? But we–"

Steve held up a hand. "No, I mean, I have to _ pretend _to break up with you. I don't think I can be the guy who's okay with his girlfriend 'cheating' on him. Do you know what everyone would start saying about me?"

"But you _ are _okay with me having sex with Jonathan! What do you care what any of those losers think of you?"

"Because!" he cried, raising his voice before taking a breath and looking down. Nancy had no idea what to do with that non-answer. While she was still thinking, Steve spoke again. 

"You're gonna get out of this town," he said, giving Nancy a little smile. "You and Jonathan both. You're smart and driven and you're going places. I'm not. I'm probably going to end up working for my dad and living _ here _for the rest of my life." He pointed out at Pete's. "I'm going to have to live around most of those assholes for the rest of my life. What they think of me matters, whether I like it or not."

Nancy took a moment to process Steve's words. "You don't think you're good enough to get out of Hawkins?"

Steve shook his head.

"Steve…" she said, reaching for him and pulling him into a hug. "Do you want to know what I think?"

"Is it bad?"

"No," she told him, leaning back far enough to cup Steve's cheek with her right hand. "I think you _ are _ good enough. I think the people who've told you that you're not don't know the real you." She brushed her hand back through his hair, enjoying the way he closed his eyes and leaned into the caress. "Maybe you only believed them because until recently, I don't think _ you _knew the real you either."

Sighing, Steve said, "Yeah, Nancy. That all sounds good and everything. Maybe we'll make it out of this town. Maybe you'll think enough of me to bring me with you. But if we don't? If _ I _ don't?" He shook his head. "No, we _ have _to break up. Even if it's just for a little while."

“I understand,” Nancy said, and even though she _ did _understand, it still hurt like hell. Fighting back tears, Nancy said, “We shouldn’t have been so stupid. Jonathan and me. I mean, right there in the parking lot?”

Steve pulled Nancy closer, wrapping his arms around her. “I get it. I have such a hard time keeping my hands off you guys, too.”

“I accidentally left my panties in his car,” Nancy admitted, half embarrassed, half wondering how Steve would react.

He choked, coughed, and asked, “So you’re not …?”

Nancy shook her head. “It’s a little chilly, actually.”

“Fuck,” he muttered, starting up his car. “We’re finding someplace else to park.”

This surprised Nancy. Ever since November, parking in a dark place, away from everyone and everything else hadn’t felt very safe. “What about your house?”

Steve shook his head. “My parents are having a dinner party. Lots of people over.”

“Jonathan’s family is home, too,” Nancy told him, scooting over a little and buckling her seat belt. “Sneak into my room? My dad has to be asleep by now.”

“Can you be quiet if I stick my head up your skirt and eat you out?” Steve asked, shooting Nancy a grin before he pulled out of the Pete’s parking lot. “Because that’s what I really, really want to do.”

Nancy gasped. They hadn’t done too much oral sex yet, but every time had been better than the last. She thought he might want to know, “Jonathan came in me. I’m still kind of …”

The car swerved frighteningly before Steve put it back on track. “Fuck, Nancy!” He cried, his posture rigid. “Jesus Christ! You came out to pizza with no panties and Jonathan’s come in you?”

“Are you mad?”

Steve shot Nancy a wide-eyed look and shook his head as he focused back on the road. “I’m not mad, I’m gonna cream my pants! Shit!”

Nancy laughed. “Maybe we should pull over. I could drive.”

“No, you’re right. Let’s get to your house,” Steve said through his teeth. 

Nancy’s neighborhood was close, so it didn’t take long before Nancy was home. Steve drove away (a block or two to park), and Nancy let herself into the house, said hello to her mother, and locked herself in her room. As soon as she opened the window, Steve was there, climbing in. 

Nancy had to bite her hand not to scream when Steve tipped her on the bed and put his head up her skirt, between her legs. As he licked and sucked at her, Nancy could feel herself getting close already. A thought occurred to her and she had to ask, “Can you still taste him?”

“Oh, yeah,” Steve muttered, getting back to the job at hand like he was starving for it. 

Maybe he was. That thought put Nancy over the edge and she had to clench her teeth and hold her breath to keep from crying out. 

She tugged at Steve, getting him to move up where she could kiss him and undo his fly. “Oh, shit,” she whispered before licking his lips again. “I can still taste him, too.”

Steve groaned into his shoulder. “I need to fuck you! Can I fuck you?”

Nancy nodded and Steve got his pants open end down to his knees in two seconds flat. He didn’t even bother to take them all the way off before he pressed into Nancy, thrusting deep easily because of how wet she was. Steve kissed her and Nancy held onto him tightly, thrusting up to meet him as best she could. 

Not even a minute later, Steve came, pulsing inside Nancy. After a moment he muttered, “Shit. We should break up every day!”

A giggle escaped Nancy and she hugged him tight again, kissing him, too. “Maybe Jonathan and I should start dating. Then you can help me ‘cheat’ on him!”

Steve laughed, pulling back and getting his pants back up before snuggling close to Nancy. “Is it late enough yet to go over to Jonathan’s? I’m beat.”

“Yeah, let me just get ready. Then we’ll go.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going to school after the "break up" is difficult, and a few family members find out.

“Will you help me with something?” Steve asked Nancy, getting her attention away from her homework. It was the Sunday afternoon after their "break up" and they were hanging out in Steve’s empty house, waiting for Jonathan to be done with work. 

“What?” she asked, writing a few more things down before she looked over at him. 

Steve felt his face get hot, but he’d been thinking about this for awhile, and he couldn’t get it out of his head.  _ Especially  _ since the other night. “Will you, like…” He sighed, telling himself to just spit it out already. “Teach me how to give Jonathan a–a blow job?”

Nancy stared at Steve for long enough that he started to feel really dumb.

“Forget it. Never mind, I–”

“No, Steve,” she said, laughing a little as she crawled over to sit next to him on the bed. “I’m sorry. I was just  _ picturing  _ it in my head.”

Steve still felt stupid, but at least his face was starting to feel less hot. “Was this a good picture or–“

“Good,” she told him, taking Steve’s hand and holding it. “Really good.”

“Okay, good.” He raised his eyebrows at her, waiting for an answer to his original question. “So?”

Nancy smiled and said, “I’m not exactly an  _ expert _ , but I’ll teach you what I know.”

“Wait,” Steve said with a grin. “I was your first, right?”

Nancy rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah.”

“That time at school? When we snuck off during lunch?” Steve walked his fingers up Nancy’s arm. 

Nancy put her hand over her face and laughed. “I still can’t believe we did that. I swear, everyone could tell.”

“No one could tell,” Steve assured her. 

“Jonathan took one look at me during fifth and turned beet red,” Nancy told him. “He could tell, at least.”

Trying to remember what had happened when, Steve asked her, “That was before we started fucking him, wasn’t it?”

Nancy nodded. 

Steve laughed a little and shook his head. “Oops.”

“So, yeah. That was my first time giving a blow job. I had barely any clue what I was doing,” Nancy admitted, looking down at her hands. 

“Wanna know a secret?” Steve asked her, moving closer and kissing her shoulder.

“What?”

“That was the first BJ I’d ever gotten.”

Nancy gasped at him. “You told me you’d gotten one from Erica Carter!”

Steve shook his head, pouting when she flicked his ear. “She gave me a handy in ninth grade.  _ That _ much is true.”

“What other lies have you told me?”

Steve groaned and fell back against his bed, because now this was going to be a big thing, wasn’t it? He closed his eyes and rubbed at his face. This sure was a lot of shit to go through just for a lesson on sucking dick. Well, he’d better get it over with and fess up. “Fine! You were my first, okay?”

“Yeah, first blow job, we’ve established that.”

“No,” Steve said, opening his eyes and looking at her. “My first time having sex.”

She looked at him like she still wasn’t getting it. 

He tried to elaborate. “Going all the way? First home run?”

“But…” Nancy gave him a puzzled look. “What about what everyone said about you?”

“I don’t know,” Steve shrugged, looking away from Nancy. “I suppose people figure if you’ve been making out with girls for a long time, then eventually you’re gonna do all the other stuff, too.”

“People?” Nancy asked him. “You mean Tommy and Carol?”

Steve spoke quietly when he answered her, ashamed, “Yeah. And the guys on the basketball team.”

Nancy was quiet for a long minute before she spoke again. “So, why did you have sex with me?”

“It’s not obvious?” he asked her.

Nancy shook her head. 

“I really,” he sat up and leaned over to kiss her, “really liked you.” Smiling, he added, “Plus you took your shirt off right in front of me. There’s only so much temptation a guy can take.”

Nancy laughed, shaking her head at him. “Well, now we’re in a little bit of a quandary.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because if you’d never had a blow job before me and I’d never given one before you, I really have no credentials in the matter.”

Steve blinked at her while he tried to figure out what she meant by that. 

Eventually she took pity on him and said, “I might not be nearly as good as you think I am.”

“But,” Steve said, feeling his cock chub up a little at the thought. “You’ve got to be good, right? I mean, you always make me come, like, crazy fast.”

“You come that fast anyway,” she said.

“Okay, well now I feel insulted.”

“No,” Nancy said, pulling on Steve so he couldn’t turn away from her. “I’m not saying it’s your fault or that there’s anything wrong with it. You’re sixteen. It’s normal.”

Steve thought about this. “So, what you’re telling me is that, since Jonathan is also sixteen, he won’t care that I don’t know what I’m doing?”

“Yes,” Nancy said, giving him a kiss. “I think the biggest tip I can give you is just to keep your teeth out of the way.”

Squirming a little in his pants, Steve looked at Nancy and said, “Well, shit. Now I’m all horny.” He got closer to her and kissed her neck. “Can I eat you out while we’re waiting for Jonathan?”

Nancy blushed, but she nodded eagerly. “Yeah.”

~*~

It was weird for Jonathan to be able to hang out with Nancy at school. People kept looking at him with this sort of awe on their faces, and obviously talked about him with their friends. When Chase Murphy passed him in the hall, he said, “Well, Byers, you finally did it. You stole Harrington’s girl. Congrats.”

Jonathan ignored him. He hadn’t stolen anyone. Nancy and Steve were still together, but they were with him too. Just the night before, Nancy had taught Steve how to blow Jonathan. He wondered how Chase Murphy would react to knowing the star of the basketball team had sucked Jonathan’s cock, and  _ liked  _ it.

Jonathan would never betray Steve's confidence by telling anyone about it, obviously, but it was fun to think about. It got him through the day. Nancy seemed to be having a harder time of it, which Jonathan felt the worst about. At lunch she sat with him, away from all the rest of her friends. 

“I’m sorry,” he told her, putting an arm around her and kissing her shoulder. “I know you liked being popular.”

“I didn’t really,” she told him. “Having more people around makes it easier not to miss Barb, but I’m not like them. I’m not …” She sighed, leaning her head against Jonathan’s. “I’m the freak who can’t sleep unless both of her two, yes  _ two _ , boyfriends are in the room.”

Watching the table with the popular kids, Jonathan murmured, “Steve’s not exactly normal either, is he?”

Nancy shook her head. “He’s just better at hiding it.”

Jonathan laughed, hiding his smile against Nancy. “We’re a trio of freaks.”

“Perfect for each other.” Nancy sighed. “I wish he would sit with us, instead of with those assholes.”

Deciding to distract Nancy from her wishful thinking, Jonathan indulged in some of his own. He whispered in her ear, “Next time Steve blows me, I’m gonna tug his hair and see if he sucks harder.”

Nancy gasped, slapping him on the shoulder. “Jonathan!”

“You don’t think he’d like it?” Jonathan smiled, taking another playful slap. “Because I’ve noticed it when I’m kissing him. Have you?”

Nancy blushed, but she also nodded. “I have noticed.”

“Do you want to watch?”

Nancy nodded again. 

Jonathan hugged her closer. “When’s the next time you can meet up?”

“Not soon enough,” she groaned, kissing Jonathan just as the end-of-lunch bell rang. 

~*~

Nancy was deep in her homework, trying to get all her studying done before her exams in the morning. Every single one of her teachers had decided that the week before spring break was the best time to schedule a big test. To make matters worse, except for seeing Jonathan at school, Nancy had been too busy studying the past few days to even  _ think  _ about seeing either of her boys, and it was starting to make her nerves feel fried. 

There was all the stress over studying, added onto not sleeping well by herself ( _ still _ , goddamn it), with a great big side-helping of being labeled the 'class slut'.  _ Again _ . At least there wasn't as much pressure to fit in with Steve's popular crowd. It wasn't much, but anything that helped lighten the load was something Nancy welcomed.

She did not welcome little brothers who barely knocked before barging in, who sat their stinky-ass bodies on her bed, and who said things like, "I heard something about you at school today."

"What?" Nancy snapped, feeling bad when Mike actually looked a little afraid of her. Just like she'd been sleepless and stressed what felt like the entire school year, Nancy had noticed Mike wasn't quite his old self, either. She'd lost Barb, but he'd lost Eleven, and as much as either of them tried to pretend they were over it, Nancy knew they weren't. 

Using a more careful tone, Nancy said, "Sorry. What did you hear about me?" She was pretty sure she knew what was coming, but the world had its ways of surprising her, didn't it?

"I heard that you cheated on Steve with Jonathan, and that you and Steve broke up."

For once, there wasn't any sort of wild hyperbole attached to the story. Jesus, her little brother really  _ was  _ starting to grow up!

"I didn't cheat on Steve," Nancy told Mike, "because cheating is wrong and you should never do it. Steve and I did break up. I'm dating Jonathan now. Happy?"

Mike furrowed his brow like he was trying to solve an intricate math problem. "But I saw you sneak out of the house and get in Steve's car on Saturday night. Everyone said you broke up with him like two weeks ago."

Fuck. Shit. Okay. Nancy just had to think. Mike was thirteen now. Was he ready to handle the truth? Could he be trusted with the truth? Maybe?

Nancy stood up and closed her door before turning back and taking a seat on the bed next to Mike. "Nothing I tell you leaves this room, on pain of death, okay? You can't even tell mom and dad." He started to open his mouth, but Nancy cut him off, " _ Or  _ any of your friends, okay? Not even Will!"

"But if it's about his brother…"

Nancy rolled her eyes. "If you want to know the truth, you have to agree to my terms. Do you agree?"

Mike looked around at the floor for a moment before turning his gaze back to her and nodding. "I agree." It was the most solemn she had heard him be in a long time. Since November, actually.

Deeming her little brother sincere, Nancy decided he could be trusted. "I'm dating Steve  _ and  _ Jonathan. Both of them."

"Both?" Mike asked, his face looking like she'd just boggled his mind. "But...but… that's cheating!"

"Not if they both know about it and agreed to it," she insisted. Leaning closer, she whispered, "Not if they're both dating each other too."

"You can fucking do that?" He asked, raising his voice a little too much for Nancy's comfort.

"Not really," she said, thinking about everything that had gone down after the basketball game. "But we're giving it a try. I mean, monsters and alternate dimensions and girls with superpowers exist. Why not an unconventional sort of relationship?"

"That...actually kind of makes sense," Mike admitted. 

"Tell no one."

Mike raised his right hand. "My lips are sealed."

~*~

** _April 1984_ **

Steve dropped Stacey McNamera off on her front stoop, giving her a kiss on her cheek before bidding her a goodnight. He didn't even bother stopping at his own house before heading to Jonathan's. He parked and grabbed his backpack out of the trunk before starting to go around to the back of the house. He wasn’t even to the side of the house when a voice stopped him.

"You can come in the front door, you know." Joyce sat in a chair on the front porch, smoking and watching Steve with a little smile on her face. How had he missed her sitting right there? Had he been  _ that  _ involved in his own thoughts? It wasn't that long ago that he couldn't even  _ look _ at this house without becoming a hyper-aware  _ mess _ . 

"Oh," Steve said dumbly, pausing for far too long before he could get his feet to reverse course. "Is it okay if I stay?"

"If you're here, at least Jonathan won't sneak out in the middle of the night," she said, raising her eyebrows and knocking the ash from her cigarette.

Steve narrowed his eyes at her. "You knew."

Joyce nodded. 

"And you don't mind?"

Shrugging, she said, "We are who we are, aren't we? It would be stupid of me to drive my son away over something so trivial."

"Right," Steve said, wondering why all parents couldn't be as cool as Jonathan's mom. He supposed almost losing one of your sons to an interdimensional monster tended to put some things in perspective. "Um, thanks."

"Anytime." Joyce sounded like she meant it. Angling her head toward the front door, she told him, "Go on in. Jonathan's studying in his room."

Steve gave Joyce another nod of thanks and followed her directions, heading inside. As he passed by the dining room, Jonathan's brother was there. He didn't look nearly as pale as the last time Steve had seen him up close, but that had been back in December and now it was May. 

"Oh, hey, Steve," Will said happily, not sounding surprised in the least that Steve was there.

"Hey," Steve replied, giving a wave. He escaped before more small talk might have been required.

Stopping at Jonathan's bedroom door, Steve thought about just heading right in, but then he decided it would probably be better if he knocked. Even if he  _ had  _ slept here every night except one in the last two weeks. 

Jonathan called out, "Come in." When Steve did so, Jonathan was at his desk, facing away from the door.

"Hey," Steve said, closing the door behind him and letting his bag fall to the ground at the foot of the bed.

Jonathan turned with a start. "How did you get in?"

Steve collapsed into Jonathan's bed. "Your mom let me in."

"You could have–"

"Give it up, Jonathan," Steve told him, lying back on the pillows and getting comfortable. "She totally knows."

"Knows what?" Jonathan asked, his voice a low hiss.

"That I sleep here now, at least." Steve could see Jonathan working himself up – he was a lot like Nancy that way sometimes – so Steve reached over and grabbed Jonathan's wrist. Steve tugged at him until Jonathan gave up and joined Steve in bed. "It's fine. She's cool. A lot cooler than my parents, for sure."

Jonathan still looked like he was about to have an aneurism instead of realizing that their lives had just gotten easier. To head that off at the pass, Steve pulled Jonathan into a kiss. After a few kisses it worked, and the tension left Jonathan's body. Eventually, though, he pulled back. "I need to finish this essay for Mrs. Johnson."

"Yeah, I suppose it's still kind of early," Steve said with a sigh, letting Jonathan go. He reached for his own book bag, pulling out his math homework and frowning at it. Eventually it clicked for him and he made his best attempt at the problems he'd been assigned.

As they worked, Jonathan asked, "Oh, hey. Weren't you supposed to be on some date?"

"I took Stacey McNamera out for burgers," Steve admitted. "It sucked. She sucked. The whole thing sucked. I hated it. I'm sure she could tell." He sighed. "My reputation is seriously starting to suffer."

"Are you sure pretending to date other girls is helping?" Jonathan asked. "If you're taking them out, but not doing anything else, it might look even worse than  _ not  _ dating."

"Maybe," Steve replied, thinking this over a bit as he finished a problem. "I'm pretty sure everyone just thinks I'm still hung up on Nancy."

"Who wouldn't be?" Jonathan asked quietly enough that Steve wasn't sure he was supposed to hear it. 

Steve told him, "An  _ idiot _ , that's who." It got enough of a laugh out of Jonathan that Steve felt satisfied with the joke.

They fell silent for awhile. Steve finished his homework, then marveled at the fact that he didn't have to sneak to the bathroom while everyone else in the house was asleep.

When Steve got back to Jonathan's room, he stripped down to his boxers and got in bed. Jonathan still had his desk lamp on, but Steve was beat enough that he passed out.

He dreamt that Nancy was at the bottom of his parents' swimming pool. Steve watched as she kicked off from the bottom, only to run into an invisible barrier at the top. She couldn't get out! She couldn't breathe!

Steve tried to go to her, tried to find something to break through the glass, or whatever it was, but he couldn't move! He was tied down! Steve did the only thing he could and called out to her. "Nancy! Nancy!"

"Steve!" This wasn't Nancy's voice, but Jonathan's. Something shook his body loose from its bindings. "Steve! Wake up!"

_ Wake up _ ? 

Oh! 

Steve opened his eyes and found Jonathan sitting on top of him, holding Steve's arms down against the bed. It was hard to tell in the dim light coming from the desk lamp, but Jonathan's left cheek looked red. "What's…?"

"You were dreaming," Jonathan told him, letting go of Steve's arms and leaning back. He brushed a hand through his hair to get it out of his eyes and sighed.

"Nancy was drowning," Steve tried to explain. He pushed himself up to get a better look at the red mark on Jonathan's face.

Jonathan rubbed the mark and said, "When I tried to wake you up, you punched me."

"Shit." Steve sat all the way up, keeping Jonathan in his lap with his arms. "God, I'm sorry." He turned Jonathan's face and set a delicate kiss on his cheek. "Are you okay?"

With a snort, Jonathan said, "You don't hit even half as hard as my old man."

"Jesus Christ," Steve replied, not really sure where to go with  _ that  _ piece of information. He settled on kissing Jonathan's cheek a few more times, then his lips a few more after that. It felt late, but Jonathan's light was still on and he was still dressed, so Steve asked, "How long was I asleep?"

"A few minutes." Jonathan's attention was drawn when there was a knock on the wall under his window. "Nancy's here."

"How?" Steve asked, letting Jonathan go when he pulled away. "Did her parents get her a car?"

"Ally was going to drop her off," Jonathan said over his shoulder as he opened his bedroom door.

Steve got out of bed and followed Jonathan, still shaken by his dream and wanting to see Nancy as soon as he could. He stopped short when he ran into Jonathan at the kitchen threshold, which was an odd place for him to stop. Looking over Jonathan's shoulder, he saw Joyce on the other side of the kitchen, opening the back door.

"Hello, Nancy," Joyce said, her voice tired and overly-friendly at the same time. "Please, come in."

It took a few moments, but eventually Nancy came through the door. Her eyes were wide with surprise, and they got even wider when they landed on Jonathan and Steve. It was only then Steve realized he was wearing nothing but his underwear. He wanted to run back to Jonathan's room and grab a shirt, but he also didn't want to miss Nancy getting the treatment he'd been subjected to earlier in the evening. So he stayed.

"What's going on?" Nancy asked, wrapping her arms around herself as she looked around the room.

"Mrs. Byers knows," Steve told her, making his voice as cheerful as he could so she wouldn't go down the same spiral Jonthan had tried to head down earlier.

"Knows what?" Nancy asked, looking at Joyce.

Joyce gave her a look that Steve was pretty sure meant,  _ What  _ don't  _ I know _ ? "You both have been sleeping with my son. I thought maybe things would work themselves out by now, but it's been months and we just have to face the facts."

"Which are what?" Jonathan asked in a careful voice.

"Sneaking around in the middle of the night is just not safe. If you want a place to sleep,  _ please  _ just come here. Come to the front door. No judgement."

Out of left field, Nancy asked, "Did Mike tell you?"

Joyce laughed. "Mike didn't  _ have  _ to tell me. You think you're the only ones who don't sleep at night?"

"Wait,  _ Mike  _ knows?" Steve asked, starting to step out from behind Jonathan before he once again realized how undressed he was.

"Mike knew like a month ago," Nancy told him. Turning to Joyce, Nancy asked, "Are you sure it's okay that we're here? Aren't you going to tell our parents or something?"

"I was a teenager more recently than any of your parents," Joyce said, leaning against the kitchen counters. "I remember better what it was like, I think. Either that, or they didn't have the privilege of being a messed-up, traumatized kid like I was." She set her jaw and looked around at the three of them. "Like you guys are." She sniffled and rubbed at her nose. "I want you to be safe, and if you need to be together to feel safe, that's fine by me. The last thing I want to do is drive you out of this house and toward somewhere that’s unsafe. Okay?"

"Okay, mom," Jonathan said, leaving the kitchen threshold and going over to Joyce. While he was hugging his mom, Steve motioned Nancy over and stood behind her instead.

Sniffling even more when Jonathan let her go, Joyce held up a finger. "I need to set some rules, okay? Appropriate boundaries. I don't want Will seeing or hearing anything…" She cleared her throat. "... _ adult _ . I don't want to hear it either. Keep your door locked, keep your activities quiet."

Steve didn't think he'd ever seen Jonathan blush that hard.

"Next, everyone keeps going to school. That is non-negotiable." Steve watched the others and nodded with them. Honestly, if he wasn't going to school, he wasn't sure what he would do.

"And last," She licked her lips before continuing. "Hop tells me I'm not allowed to harbor runaways, so please spend enough time with your families that they're not going to think you ran away. See them or call them at least once a day."

"I can do that," Nancy told her with a decisive nod.

"My parents are in Barbados for three weeks," Steve told the others, taken aback by the intense looks they gave him. "I think my mom probably left a number I could call…"

"They left you all alone?" Joyce asked, her intense look getting even more intense. Steve tried harder to hide behind Nancy, but she was kind of small for it to work very well.

Shrugging, Steve told Joyce, "They left me money for food and gas and stuff." Nancy turned around to look at Steve, her eyebrows all tilted and sad. "What? I'll be eighteen next March. They're just preparing me to be on my own."

"Oh, sweetie," Joyce said, crossing the kitchen and getting around Nancy to pull Steve (mostly by his head) into a hug. "You're not even six months older than Jonathan. Your parents are just being selfish."

Selfish? Steve could believe it of his dad, but not his mom. 

Joyce released him from the hug, but kept eye contact with him. “Call your parents, give them the number here. You’re staying at least until they get home. Understood?”

“Understood,” he told her, really wishing he would have put his shirt on. 

“Okay?” Joyce asked as she looked around at the others. “Now go to sleep. It’s a school night and you’ve all got an early morning.”

“Got it,” Jonathan said, reaching for Nancy before herding both her and Steve back toward his room. “Night mom!”

“Good night, Mrs. Byers,” Steve said before letting Jonathan push him into the bedroom. 

Once the door was closed and locked, Jonathan fell back against the bed, muttering, “That was so embarrassing.”

“You’re embarrassed?” Steve asked, climbing into bed next to him. “I’m in my underwear!” He reached for Nancy, hoping she would get the hint and join them. 

She shook her head and laughed shakily, but took off her jacket and pants. She pulled her bra out from under her shirt, saying, “Don’t be embarrassed. Your mom is great. I know my mom knows I’m having sex, but I really doubt she’d invite you guys to stay with me like that.”

“True,” Jonathan said, taking off his pants and turning off the light before joining them again. “I still wish she didn’t know.”

“Don’t overthink a good thing,” Steve told Jonathan, pulling him close. “Seriously.”

“I’ll try.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wouldn't be prom night without sex and feelings.

It was a dream Jonathan had been through before, yet it still scared the shit out of him.

Arms reached out to him from the base of a tree, and the gooey split in the universe. Instead of Nancy’s arms, they were Steve’s, and as hard as Jonathan pulled, Steve was too big to fit through the shrinking hole. 

He was losing his grasp! He couldn’t hold on tight enough!

Steve’s hand slipped out of Jonathan’s and the portal closed. 

Jonathan had lost him. 

“No!” he sobbed, falling back against the forest floor with empty arms. “No, no, no.”

“Jonathan, wake up,” said Steve’s voice in his ear. 

Blinking awake, Jonathan realized he was in his dark bedroom, and Steve was there with him. Jonathan wrapped his arms around Steve and held on tightly, letting Steve rub circles on his back as his pulse slowed down and returned to normal. 

Clearing his throat, Jonathan whispered, “I dreamed I lost you.”

“Yeah, I’ve had that one,” Steve replied, kissing Jonathan’s forehead and then his cheeks. 

Desperate to feel something other than terrified, Jonathan pushed himself up and pressed his lips to Steve’s. Steve returned the kiss, and when Jonathan licked at Steve’s lower lip, Steve reciprocated that too. 

His heartbeat ramping up again, Jonathan kept his lips on Steve’s as he pushed Steve’s underwear down. Steve got the hint and took them off, pushing them down with his hands and then his feet. Jonathan got his underwear off too, and then pulled Steve as close as he could get him. 

“What do you want, baby?” Steve asked, and the pet name was new enough that it made Jonathan’s heart clench. 

Panting against Steve’s lips and rolling his hips so his cock dragged against the skin on Steve’s belly, Jonathan told him, “I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t want to think. I need you.”

“Fuck,” Steve groaned, his hand stroking down Jonathan’s side and grabbing his ass. On his second squeeze, the tip of Steve’s finger brushed against Jonathan’s asshole, sending sparks up Jonathan’s spine and making his cock jump. 

“More,” Jonathan said, scooting up further and only realizing after he’d done it that it was so Steve could reach better. “Shit, I want… I want…”

Steve’s voice was pitched low when he asked, “You want me to fuck you?”

Jonathan nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”

Steve groaned and kissed Jonathan so hard his tooth started to cut his inner lip. “I can’t…” Steve whispered, and Jonathan felt disappointment start to seize his heart and knot up his stomach. “I can’t  _ dry _ , babe. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Want it to hurt,” Jonathan said, his mouth running away with him. He couldn’t place why, but he wanted to  _ feel _ so badly, that even pain would satisfy the anxious knot at his core. “Come on,” he said, rolling back and pulling Steve on top of him. “Just fuck me, dammit.”

“Jesus,” Steve sighed tilting his hips so his cock slid against Jonathan’s. The contact felt good, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't  _ enough _ .

Feeling desperate and mean, Jonathan hissed, "What, you can fuck Nancy, but you can't fuck me? Too queer for you? Or maybe you don't love me like–"

"Shut up!" Steve cried, grabbing both of Jonathan's wrists and pressing them against the bed as he kissed Jonathan breathless. "Don't fuckin' say that shit, man," he whispered, his breath hot against Jonathan's chin. "If you want someone to hurt you, find someone else. I'm not gonna do it."

At the thought of finding someone else, at not having Steve here in his bed with him, Jonathan took a sharp breath. It caught in his throat and came out as a sob. 

"Oh, baby," Steve murmured, letting go of Jonathan's wrists and putting his hands on the side of Jonathan's face. His thumbs brushed the tears off Jonathan's face and his kiss was gentle.

"Don't go," Jonathan insisted, putting his hands over Steve's wrists. "Don't go."

"I'm not going anywhere," Steve insisted, kissing him again. "I love you."

Jonathan nodded, running his hands up and down Steve's forearms. "Love you, too."

They traded a few more kisses, Steve tracing light fingers down Jonathan's neck, making him shiver. His voice low, Steve murmured, "I've wanted to fuck you for…" He took a sharp breath, dragging his cock against Jonathan's again and sucking on his neck. "For  _ awhile _ ."

"You've thought about it?" Jonathan asked, using his legs to pull Steve closer. 

Steve kissed Jonathan's jaw before whispering in his ear, "Yeah. A lot."

Jonathan shivered and groaned. His need felt overwhelming.

"Have you ever thought about it before?" Steve asked, thrusting his hips again. God, it just wasn't enough.

Jonathan nodded, his cheek rubbing against Steve's as he did. "Y-yeah. Yeah." His face felt hot, and his stomach tightened with a pang of guilt. He felt like all the things his father had ever said about him were true. "Shit. Don't– don't tell anyone."

"Not even Nancy?" He pulled back a little and every speck of Jonathan's skin that lost contact with Steve felt like it burned in the cold night air.

"Fuck, I don't know," Jonathan muttered, feeling ashamed for how desperately he wanted to just give himself over and let Steve take care of him the way Jonathan had seen him take care of Nancy. "Just,  _ please _ ." 

Steve groaned again, his lips on Jonathan's even as he lifted his body up and away. "I'll be right back."

Jonathan lay there, panting hard and feeling stupid while Steve wrapped a towel from the floor around his waist and slipped out of the room. Steve's footsteps trailed down the hall to the bathroom, rummaging around in there for a moment before heading further away, toward the kitchen.

This was so dumb. It was just a dream, just a nightmare. He couldn't handle it because he was weak. A screw-up. Not much of a man at all. He wasn't supposed to want Steve like he did. God, why did Jonathan want him so much? Why did Jonathan love him so much? It was messed up. Weird. 

Everything Jonathan wasn't supposed to be, but was anyway.

Fuck.

Steve came back into the room, shutting the door behind him. He was carrying something, but it was dark enough that Jonathan couldn't see what it was. When Steve set it down on the nightstand, it sounded heavy and made of glass. A jar or a bowl or something.

"You still with me, Jon?" Steve asked, getting back into bed and putting his warm body over Jonathan's.

He had to clear his throat before he could respond. "Yeah."

Steve kissed him, deep slow kisses that made Jonathan want him all over again. Kisses that made Jonathan need him all over again. His hands feeling greedy, clingy, needy, Jonathan pulled Steve as close as he could get. He dug his fingers into the skin on Steve's arm, on his back, on his ass, pulling him closer. Needing him closer.

Steve got his hands behind Jonathan's knees, pushing them up and apart before reaching over to the nightstand. Oh, fuck. This was it. "Come on," Jonathan found himself encouraging Steve. "Yeah, come on."

"Don't let me hurt you," Steve said, his cock pressing bluntly against Jonathan. 

The sensation of wet skin pressing across his hole left Jonathan panting and grabbing at Steve's arms. He'd never felt anything like it, and his whole body ached for more. "Shit!"

"Bad?" Steve asked, backing off.

Jonathan shook his head and pulled Steve closer. "No,  _ good _ ."

"Oh, Jesus," Steve whispered, pressing his forehead against Jonathan's shoulder. His cock slipped across Jonathan's hole again. Then he leaned to one side and put his free hand down between them, using it to move his cock over Jonathan's hole a few more times. Then he lined up and pressed against Jonathan, just holding his hips there for a moment.

Frustrated, Jonathan used his heel to pull Steve's hips closer. The tip of his cock slipped into Jonathan, and the stretch burned a little bit, but mostly it felt so good, Jonathan couldn't think about anything else. "Ah!"

"You like that?" Steve asked, pulling back before pressing in a little further. 

"Yeah," Jonathan admitted, kissing Steve and starting to get the hang of how to relax into it so Steve's cock inside him felt less tight and more mind-numbingly good. "Oh, fuck."

With a groan, Steve panted against Jonathan's lips. "God, Jonathan. I–" 

Jonathan pulled him into another kiss, already overwhelmed by the sensations. He couldn't bear to endure sweet words, too. All he needed was the push and pull, the feeling of Steve with him, in him, so close they might as well have been one person. Deliciously whole. 

The feeling of coming with Steve still in him was something indescribable. Jonathan had to clench his teeth and bury his face in Steve's neck to keep from crying out. 

"Shit, shit, shit," Steve said, shuddering in Jonathan's arms, his cock pulsing. 

With a sigh, Steve rolled to the side. He put his face next to Jonathan's shoulder, pressing a kiss there. Whispering, he asked, "Was that what you needed?"

Jonathan turned onto his side to face Steve. He wished he could see Steve's face, but it was too dark. The best he could do was give Steve another kiss and touch his face with gentle fingers. "I think so."

Steve's voice sounded vulnerable when he asked, "Was it okay? I mean…" He drew his fingers across the gooey spot on Jonathan's belly, wiping his fingers on the sheet below them. "Obviously I got  _ something  _ right." He wiped the rest of the come from Jonathan’s belly and stuck these fingers in his mouth.

"I liked it," Jonthan admitted, his face hot again. The wet feeling in his ass was weird, and he  _ ached _ , but he could also tell he was going to crave doing this again. And again. 

"Me too," Steve told him, turning to lay on his back and pulling Jonathan half on top of him. It was a weirdly comfortable position, one they ended up sleeping in pretty often. He was almost asleep again when Steve asked, "Are you mad I wouldn't hurt you?"

"No," Jonathan assured him, squeezing the arm he had across Steve's chest. "No, I'm  _ really  _ not mad." A giddy little laugh escaped him. 

Steve laughed too, kissing Jonathan's forehead. Another minute later he asked, "Would you ever want to do that to me?"

"What, hurt you?" Jonathan asked. 

"No, fuck me."

The thought made Jonathan's softening cock jump against Steve's thigh.

With a laugh, Steve mumbled, "That's a  _ yes _ ."

"Only if you wanted to," Jonathan insisted.

Steve stroked his hand across Jonathan's back, mumbling sleepily, "We'll see."

~*~

“What about this one, sweetie?” Karen asked, holding up a lavender dress in satin. It had an interesting wave-like texture. “It compliments your complexion.”

Taking the dress, Nancy held it in front of herself and looked into the mirror. “Does it have to be this long?”

“Prom dresses are floor length,” Karen replied, looking back over at the racks. “Maybe something strapless?”

Thinking about the way Steve would look at her in a strapless dress, Nancy set aside the lavender dress and said, “Yeah, let’s try one of those.”

“Nancy?” said a voice from across the dress shop. She turned and saw a girl that she sort of recognized from being ahead of her in school. “I didn’t realize you were a junior.”

“She’s not,” Karen replied on Nancy’s behalf, smiling at the newcomer. “Her boyfriend, Steve, is a junior.”

“Steve Harrington?” the girl (Nancy thought her name might have been Theresa) asked. “I thought you guys broke up a couple months ago. There was that thing with…” Maybe-Theresa shot a look at Karen and bit her lips. 

Well, there was no use trying to get that particular lie past her mother after  _ that _ . Nancy went with a different lie. “Steve and I did break up, but we’re still close. He invited me to go as friends.”

“Oh,” Maybe-Theresa said, pasting on a smile after an awkward second. “I’m sure you’ll have fun.”

The girl waved and moved on and Nancy was left with her mother looking at her intently. “When did you and Steve break up? Why is this the first I’m hearing about it?”

“It was stupid,” Nancy insisted. “I was stupid. It wasn’t his fault.”

“What did you do?” 

There was no way in hell Nancy was going to tell her mother, to her  _ face _ , what had actually happened. “It’s not important,” Nancy insisted. “Can we drop it?”

“O-okay,” Karen said with a curt nod. She still looked worried, but if she was letting it go, maybe they could get through this dress-shopping experience in one piece. 

Nancy looked through the strapless dresses and found one she thought might work. It was a richer color than most of the dresses, a deep navy blue. “Can I try this one on?”

“Sure, honey,” Karen said, directing Nancy toward the fitting room. "I'm sure this one's going to be the one."

~*~

"Jonathan?" Will asked over dinner. It was just the two of them, as Joyce had taken an evening shift at the general store. "Is Steve your boyfriend?"

Jonathan choked on his spaghetti. It took a few seconds of coughing and a swallow of milk to get the food down the right way. Eyeing his brother suspiciously and wondering what brought on this question, Jonathan asked, "Why would you ask that?"

Will gave Jonathan a  _ look _ . "I'm thirteen. I'm not dumb. He sleeps in your room almost every night."

Yeah, Jonathan deserved that. He watched his brother carefully, looking for any sign of what he was thinking. "Would it bother you if he was?"

Will paused, his fork moving his food around. Eventually he shook his head. "No, I don't think so. You're still my brother."

Jonathan smiled at Will. "Yeah, yeah. I'm still your brother. That's not going to change."

As they ate, Will got another look on his face that said he was thinking something. Before Jonathan could ask what it was, Will spit it out. "It's just… I thought you were in love with Mike's sister."

“I  _ was _ ,” Jonathan insisted. “I  _ am _ .”

“But how can you, like,” Will made a face. “ _ Kiss  _ and stuff with someone you don’t love?”

Laughing, Jonathan said, “Well, you’ve got to like them well enough first.”

Apparently this made sense to Will, because he nodded wisely. "So then you like Steve, and you don't love Nancy anymore."

Jonathan closed his eyes. How was he supposed to make Will understand something when  _ he  _ wasn't even quite sure how or why it had happened. "No, I love them both," Jonathan admitted. "I love them both, I'm dating both of them. Yes, it's weird. No, I don't want to give either of them up. Does that about cover it?"

Will stuck his chin forward and just stared at Jonathan for entirely too long before asking, "But  _ why _ do you love them both?"

"I don't know!" Jonathan cried, pushing back from the table a little bit. "It's not like love ever really makes sense. You can't pick and choose who you have feelings for."

Looking down, Will asked his next question in a softer voice, "How do you  _ know  _ you have feelings for them?"

Jonathan took a breath. There was no use in getting upset. Will was just trying to figure stuff out. Weren't they all? Getting frustrated with him wasn't the sort of thing a good brother would do. Jonathan lowered his voice as well. "When I look at either of them, I feel nice, you know? Warm. I want to keep looking. I feel like I want to be close to them and kiss them."  _ And do other things _ , but Jonathan wasn't going to mention that to his little brother.

"I don't look at anyone like that," Will said, taking a bite of his dinner and chewing it thoughtfully. 

Jonathan picked his own fork back up. There was no use letting good food go to waste while they had it. Watching Will, Jonathan had a thought. "You've got better things to worry about, huh?"

Will shifted a bit in his chair and said, "Yeah."

It got quiet, and Jonathan knew Will was thinking about the episodes he was  _ still  _ having, as of a week ago. Who in the family wasn't thinking about it?

~*~

"This party is lame," Nancy told Steve, finishing off her drink. "Why did we even come here?"

"To have some fun," Steve told her, nodding at Christy Bauer, who was giving them a disdainful look. "And because we were invited."

"We should be at Jonathan's." Nancy picked up the hem of her prom dress and started up the steps from Larry Winkler's basement to the first floor. Steve followed her, because what else was he going to do? Let Nancy go off on her own while she was tipsy like this? She leaned close to Steve, whispering louder than she probably thought she was, "None of these people like me. They don't even…" She turned, stopping a few steps above him so they were face to face. Looking Steve right in the eye with an intensity that made goosebumps stand up on the back of his neck, Nancy said, "They don't even like you. Not the real you. Not the person  _ I  _ know."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Steve told her, tucking a piece of hair that had come out of her hairdo back behind her ear. "But it's a party, and I want to have fun with  _ you _ . Can we do that? Please?" He pulled her into a kiss. "Besides, neither one of us should probably drive for, like, a  _ while _ ."

"We could call Jonathan to come get us," she suggested, with that glint in her eye that told Steve what she really wanted to get up to.

Steve moved to the side a little to let someone past, before whispering to Nancy, "I mean, we  _ could  _ do that. Or we could have some fun of our own first.”

She laughed, but then she took Steve’s hand and pulled him upstairs. The first floor was mostly full of other kids, but the second floor was relatively quiet. “What about in here?” Steve asked, opening the door to a really generic-looking bedroom. His house had one of these too. His parents called it the guest room, but no one had ever stayed there.

“Perfect,” Nancy said, throwing herself into Steve’s arms. He wondered a little bit if she’d be doing this if she wasn’t drunk, but he also figured Nancy was a girl who knew what she wanted. Also, they’d been fucking (with or without Jonathan) for most of the school year. It wasn’t like this was a bell that hadn’t been rung yet.

The only thing new was the location and the really, really pretty dress Nancy was wearing. “God,” he said as he kissed Nancy, pulling her close and getting a hand on her butt. “You look so pretty tonight.”

“Don’t look so bad yourself,” she replied, putting her hands up and under Steve’s tux jacket. Between kisses, she told him, “I bet Jonathan … would love to see you … in this suit … too.”

“Yeah?” Steve asked, letting Nancy push his jacket to the floor before going for her long, exposed neck. “Will you be mad if I give you …” he said, kissing Nancy’s neck, “… like, the  _ worst  _ hickey?”

“Oh, god!” Nancy groaned, undoing Steve’s belt. “Do it while you’re fucking me.”

“Um, yes ma’am,” Steve said with a laugh, toppling Nancy onto the bed. He helped her pull her dress up, then get her pantyhose and her underwear down. He barely pushed his fly open and his own underwear down before sinking his cock into Nancy.

God, how could the heat of her feel this good every single time? He latched onto Nancy’s neck, sucking at the skin there as he thrust into her over and over. 

“Oh, shit! Steve!” Nancy moaned, grabbing a fistful of hair from the back of Steve’s head and tugging. 

Steve didn’t let her pull him away from her neck. He redoubled his efforts, focusing on the sounds she made, until just like that, she was coming. Steve followed, giving Nancy's neck one last bite before turning to gentler, softer kisses.

Then the door opened. Steve did his best to shield Nancy from view, calling out, "Jesus Christ! Occupied! Get lost!"

"Sorry!" said a voice, and the door closed again. On the other side, the voice asked someone else, "Was that Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler?"

Another voice said, "I thought they broke up."

Steve shared a look with Nancy, and the slight hint of a smile on her lips made Steve lose it. He giggled, giving Nancy another kiss before pulling away from her and getting his pants put back right. Nancy's underwear and pantyhose were still on the floor, so Steve picked them up and handed them to her. Nancy pulled on the underwear, but balled up the pantyhose and stuck them in Steve's pocket. "Hold those for me."

"Sure, babe," Steve told her, leaning to get a better look at his handiwork. Laughing again, he told her, "I think you might have to wear turtlenecks for a  _ week _ ."

Nancy stood up, pulling her dress so it was sitting in more or less the right place. She bent down and picked up her shoes, saying, "It's almost summer. It's too hot for turtlenecks."

Steve hissed through his teeth, catching Nancy and tilting her chin to put more of the dim light on her neck. "Wow. I just want you to remember that you asked me to do this to you."

"Is it really that bad?" Nancy asked, leaving the bedroom and barging into the bathroom across the hall. He picked up his jacket and followed. She flipped on the light and turned her neck toward the mirror. "Steve!"

"It's gonna get worse, too," Steve told her, wincing at the very red mark on her neck. "If it makes you feel any better, it looks really hot on you."

Tina, drunk as a skunk, leaned into the bathroom. "Oh wow! Did Steve do that to you, Nancy? I thought you guys were  _ just friends _ !" She broke into a peal of laughter, and Steve could tell that it was time to get Nancy out of there, even if they had to walk all the way home.

"Let's go," he said, taking her hand and using his shoulder to get Tina to move out of the way.

"What's Jonathan going to think?" Tina asked with a sneer. "I guess it's true what they say. Once a cheater, always a cheater."

That was it. Steve had enough. He turned on her, stepping close and saying, "You know what, Tina? Nancy is a hundred times a better person than you'll ever be. Lay off."

“Of course you would say that,” Tina said, even as Nancy pulled Steve away from her. “She’s got your  _ dick  _ wrapped around her little finger!”

Steve flipped her off and followed Nancy down the stairs. The way to the door was blocked by a big crowd, all of them watching something going on in the living room. “Give me the beer, Tommy!”

“Is that Carol?” Steve asked, trying to look around Nancy and all the other people in the way. 

“Yeah,” Nancy replied, also ducking around to get a better look. 

From the living room, Steve heard Tommy shout back, “No way! I am not letting you drink!”

“Tommy! It’s prom night! I want to have a beer!” Carol sounded more petulant than usual, and Steve was once again glad that he wasn’t friends with her and Tommy anymore. 

“No!” Tommy yelled, and the crowd shifted enough that Steve could see Tommy holding a beer can above his head. “I’m not going to let you hurt the baby!”

A gasp filtered through the entire crowd. 

“Carol, are you pregnant?” asked someone closer to the fight. 

Carol turned toward that voice. “No! Tommy’s just being a dick!”

“She is pregnant!” Tommy called out. “No one give her any booze!”

Looking extremely betrayed, Carole cursed at Tommy and stomped away. The crowd buzzed with chatter, but it broke up enough that Nancy and Steve could get out the front door. 

As they walked across the Winkler’s lawn toward Steve’s car, he asked her, “That’s not gonna be us, right? Having a kid right out of high school?”

“No,” Nancy insisted. “Never. I don’t want a–a  _ normal _ life. That’s not me.” She gave Steve a look. “Is that what you want?”

“No,” he told her, slowing down as they got to his car. “I don’t know. Not anytime soon, anyway.”

Steve sighed and sat back against the hood of his car. What did he want? Back at the beginning of the year, everything had seemed simple. Go to school. Do okay enough in class to stay on the basketball team.  _ Make  _ the basketball team. Get to know Nancy Wheeler.

That was it. His entire plan for the future had been nine months long. Then November had happened, and he kind of just  _ stopped  _ planning.

He said to Nancy, "I'm a different person now than I was a year ago. What if I don't recognize myself in another year? Or the year after that? How am I supposed to think about the future, when–"

Nancy cut Steve off with a kiss. "You don't have to have everything figured out, you know."

"Excuse me?" Steve asked, letting loose a startled laugh. "Are you sure you're the same Nancy Wheeler who wouldn't make out with me because she had to study for Kaminski's test?"

Nancy blinked at Steve, looking away for a moment before making eye contact again. "I'm not," she said, like she was just realizing it. "I'm not the same, Steve. I'm confused and–and  _ heartbroken _ . How am I supposed to plan for a future she'll never have?" Steve didn't have to ask Nancy who she was talking about. Still, she looked angry, and Steve hoped like hell she wasn't angry at  _ him _ . 

"And–and this  _ thing  _ with you and me and Jonathan," she added, leaning against the car next to Steve and wiping away a tear. " _ That's  _ not normal. It's not like I could ever actually  _ marry  _ both of you. I'm selfish. I'm using you to make myself feel better. I'm too scared to have the guts to actually make a decision and  _ choose _ , and how is that fair to you?"

Wow. That was all a lot, and Steve had to admit he was scared of asking any questions, for fear of what the answers would be. But like hell was Steve going to be a coward about Nancy Wheeler. His dream girl.

He got straight to the point. "Do you love me?"

Nancy's answer was reflexive, without hesitation, "Yes, of course. But–"

"Do you love Jonathan?"

Giving Steve and assessing sort of look, Nancy replied a little slower this time. "...Yes."

"Does being with us, with  _ both  _ of us, make you happy?"

She hugged her arms around herself. "Happier," she said, giving Steve a sad look. "For brief moments, yes. Before the rest of the world comes crashing in on us."

Steve supposed he could live with  _ that  _ answer. He could definitely relate to the sentiment. Turning toward her, Steve put his arms around Nancy. "I think maybe that's all we can hope for right now. Happier." He kissed Nancy's cheek. "And for what it's worth, if you're selfish wanting to keep both me and Jonathan, then I'm being just as selfish keeping both of you. I mean, I'm just saying…" 

Steve needed to lighten the mood. He couldn't take the sincerity anymore. It made it hard to breathe, so he smirked. He made a joke. "I get off with him like two or three times more often than I do with you."

Nancy punched Steve in the stomach. She pulled her punch, so it didn't actually hurt, which is how he knew she meant it as a joke. "That's because you two are gross boys who think about sex  _ constantly _ ."

"Says the girl so eager to get fucked tonight, she didn't even take off her prom dress?"

Nancy punched him again, pulling it a little less and making Steve say, "Oof!"

"How dare you say such lies about me, Steve Harrington?" she cried, jumping back with a shriek when he tried to grab her. She set off, running across the lawn and laughing. How could Steve do anything else but follow?

~*~

When the alarm clock went off, Jonathan wasn't asleep, but he didn't want to get up, either. Summer had settled into a nice sort of routine, but it still started much earlier than he would have liked. Every morning he would make breakfast for his mom and brother (and usually Steve, too). Then either he or Steve would go get Nancy and the three of them would hang out until Jonathan had to work and Steve and Nancy had to go have dinner with their parents.

Even on the nights when Steve didn't come back until early morning, Jonathan slept better. The evening darkness felt less oppressive when the hours of it were short, and the air felt sweaty-hot. Nancy slept at Jonathan's place now and then, but she seemed like she might have been doing better lately, too.

At the end of the school year, Jonathan heard a little about how Nancy had "cheated" on him after prom, but nobody really cared too much when Carol's pregnancy became the biggest scandal of the entire school. And anyway, the night of prom both of them had come to his place flushed and happy, and willing to share their happiness with him. Jonathan didn't feel cheated on. He felt lucky.

"Hmmph," Steve said from beside Jonathan, his hair every which way as he rolled closer. Steve tugged at Jonathan until he let Steve put his chest against Jonathan's back. Then Steve used a hand to angle his cock down and between Jonathan’s thighs, and they were both sweaty enough from the heat that the slide of skin-in-skin only stuck a little bit. Steve hummed happily, placing a kiss on the back of Jonathan’s neck.

“I have to get up,” Jonathan told Steve, but he leaned back against Steve all the same. 

“I can help with that,” Steve murmured, reaching down and wrapping his fingers around Jonathan’s cock. The simultaneous sensations of Steve’s hot hand squeezing and stroking him, and Steve’s cock sliding between his legs and against his balls made Jonathan shudder. 

“Okay, you win,” he said, reaching under his pillow and pressing the tube he found there into Steve’s hand. “Let’s be quick, though.”

Steve hummed again, opening the tube of jelly and after a moment, pressing his cock against and then into Jonathan’s asshole. Jonathan raised his top leg to make the slide more comfortable, groaning softly at the feeling. He found Steve’s now-slippery hand and put it back on his cock, fucking into Steve’s fist as Steve fucked him. 

It was slow and sweaty and comfortable. Easy. Steve came first, letting go of Jonathan’s cock long enough to hold him by the hips and fuck into him just hard enough to get off. Steve stayed hard, fucking Jonathan slowly, pressing against that spot that made Jonathan see stars. He returned his hand to Jonathan’s cock, tugging and stroking until Jonathan came too. Jonathan had to press his mouth to his shoulder to keep from crying out. 

Steve slipped out of him then, turning Jonathan and shifting over him well enough to trade soft, lazy kisses as they caught their breath. “Mornin’,” he said with a dopey smile. 

“Yeah,” Jonathan replied, stretching out and stealing another kiss before finally leveraging himself out of bed. He got dressed and went out to the kitchen to make breakfast. As he was cooking the eggs, he looked out into the woods behind the house, and even that stretch of trees didn’t seem nearly as intimidating as it used to. Jonathan felt good, great even.

Will was the first one at the breakfast table, still quieter than he used to be, but talking a little bit about how he and his friends planned to spend their day. Steve came to the table next, dressed but his hair going every which way. He kissed Jonathan as he stole a piece of toast from the pile. Last to join them was Joyce, running late for work as usual. She seemed happier lately, too, and Jonathan couldn’t quite figure out why. 

“Don’t leave without eating something!” Jonathan told her, sticking an egg between two pieces of toast and wrapping it in a towel for her. “Here!”

“Oh, you’re the best!” she said, kissing Jonathan’s cheek. She dropped a kiss onto Will’s head, then one onto Steve’s. “Goodbye, boys! Be good!”

“We will be!” Steve called after her, only winking at Jonathan after the front door closed. 

“You guys are gross,” Will said, but his scoff was playful. 

“Looks like little man doesn’t want a ride over to the Wheelers’ after all,” Steve teased, dodging it when Will tried to kick him.

“Nah, I’ll take you,” Steve relented. “I’ve gotta swing by my place, anyway. Pick up the shades I left there yesterday.”

“The ones that make you look like Tom Cruise?” Will asked, meeting Jonathan’s eyes and snickering when Steve said, “Yeah, exactly those ones!”

Jonathan laughed with his brother, smiled at his boyfriend, and was looking forward to an hour from then, when their girlfriend would join them too.

~*~

A honk from the driveway told Nancy her ride was there, so she grabbed her bag and bounded down the stairs. "Bye, mom!" she called, only to be stopped short when Karen stepped in front of the door. "Oh!"

"Nancy, I'm worried about you," she said without any preamble. "Today it's Steve picking you up? Yesterday it was Jonathan? Which of these boys are you dating?"

Nancy found herself actually having to stop and think for a moment before coming up with the right answer. “Jonathan. I’m dating Jonathan.”

Karen frowned at her. The back basement door opened and closed, which Nancy took to mean that Will had been delivered safely as per his mother’s instructions. 

“If you’re dating Jonathan, why is Steve picking you up?”

“It’s just we’re both friends with Steve so we all hang out,” Nancy told her mother. “It’s not a big deal. Everyone’s fine with it.”

“Don’t you have any girl friends anymore?” 

Nancy bit back the first thought that came to mind – that her closest girl friend had been killed. She knew from experience that it wasn’t an issue to be discussed. Instead, Nancy said what was more or less the truth, “Of course I do. But Ally and Stacey both have jobs during the day, and Samantha’s in Florida with her grandparents.”

“And you can’t hang out with your friends here?”

Given how her summer days over at Jonathan’s had gone so far, Nancy figured that was a hard no. Giving the excuse that Jonathan needed to watch his brother wasn’t a good one either, since Will was over here with Mike more often than not. 

To appease her mother, Nancy said, “I mean. We can. We could. Except today we’re seeing a movie.”

Karen stepped away from the door. “Someday soon, spend time with your friends  _ here _ . And you’ll be back for dinner?”

“Definitely,” Nancy told her, giving her mom half a hug before finally escaping the house. Thinking she wanted to get out of there before her mom called her back, Nancy ran out to Steve’s car and jumped in. “Hey! Let’s go!”

“Hey,” Steve said, giving Nancy an absolutely besotted smile. No wonder Karen was getting suspicious. Except, Nancy really loved when Steve smiled at her like that. She didn’t want to scold him into stopping just to appease her mother. 

“What are we doing today?” Nancy asked. “My mom wanted to know, so I told her that we were going to go see a movie.”

Steve nodded, pulling out of the driveway and then out onto the street. “Can’t exactly tell her the items on today’s agenda are fucking, fucking, and a little more fucking?”

Nancy snorted and shook her head. “We have to eat at some point. And I actually think a movie would be fun!”

“I heard that  _ Gremlins _ movie was supposed to be kind of fun,” Steve said with an assessing nod. “And Jonathan and I already got in one round of fucking this morning, so we’re ahead of schedule!”

“You’re so gross,” Nancy said with a laugh. “But sure. It sounds great.” Looking around at the blue, cloudless sky, Nancy added, “We should go for a drive, too. Isn’t it a nice day for a drive?”

“Sure is!”

Except when Nancy got into the Byers house, she and Steve caught Jonathan walking from the shower back to his room wearing only a towel. When Nancy tipped him back onto his bed and straddled his hips before saying, “Hello,” he might have gotten the wrong idea.

Laughing, Jonathan said, “Hi,” and accepted a kiss from her. Then he pulled Steve down for another kiss, saying, “Hi,” to him as well.

Drawn in by the droplets of water on Jonathan’s skin, Nancy kissed him there, licking off one of the drops. Laying down next to Jonathan, Steve said, “Nancy thought she wanted to go to a movie today.”

“I  _ do _ want to go,” she insisted, placing another kiss on Jonathan’s neck. “We’ll get there eventually. Maybe tomorrow.”

Steve laughed and pulled off his shirt. 

It was going to be a great summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have so many chapters of this series written, you guys. So many. I'm just gonna start posting one every day. Enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'd love to know what you think in the comments below! You can also find me on [tumblr](https://pterawaters.tumblr.com/) or on [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/pterawaters).


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